Tag: Poetry Friday

Poetry Friday: Avoirdupois

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I usually know the Merriam-Webster word of the day that’s delivered to my inbox. But when Monday’s word came, not only did I not know the meaning of avoirdupois, I didn’t know how to pronounce it. Merriam-Webster gave me the American pronunciation ˈa-vər-də-ˌpȯiz (rhymes with boys and you sound like a hick saying it — a-ver-duh-poise), but clearly the word has French roots, so I found the British pronunciation ævwɑːdjuːˈpwɑː (rhymes with straw) and it’s not only more fun to say, but you sound so suave saying it — avwah-dyu-pwah. It’s a “pinkie out” kind of word. Next time you have to lift a heavy box, you can comment on its avoirdupois.

You’re welcome.

Patricia has this week’s Poetry Friday roundup at Reverie.

Hat tip to Heidi Mordhorst, inventor of the Definito form. (I broke the rules slightly by rhyming, instead of making it free verse. I felt the rhyme was necessary to help with the pronunciation.)

On another note, watch for the call for roundup hosts (Jan-June 2024) next week.

Poetry Friday: Grandmother Oak

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Molly challenged the Inklings to write luc bats in November, and it’s a good thing I started playing with the form early on, because my November kind of evaporated starting with NCTE. Not only did I write a luc bat for the burr oak across the street and her “burr oak buffet” which feeds the neighborhood deer, squirrels, and groundhogs, I wrote one in response to the news

and a stubbornly optimistic one in response to the Albert Rios poem, “A House Called Tomorrow”

It’s definitely a tricky form, but I loved the puzzle of the syllable-counting and the weaving of the rhymes.

Here’s how the other Inklings met Molly’s challenge:

Linda @A Word Edgewise
Heidi @my juicy little universe
Molly @Nix the Comfort Zone
Catherine @Reading to the Core
Margaret @Reflections on the Teche

Anastasia has this week’s Poetry Friday Roundup at Small Poems.

Poetry Friday: In the Style of Valerie Worth

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The Poetry Sisters’ challenge for November was to write in the style of Valerie Worth. Attempting to narrow my focus, I went from garden, to fennel, to the ladybug larva I found in the fennel last week. Liz commented that this could be an on-going practice — choosing small and/or ordinary things and writing without the restrictions of form or rhyme. I agree. It’s quite satisfying to find the extraordinary in the ordinary that surrounds us.

I have stumbled recently both in posting regularly and in commenting generously. Please know that I am thankful for each of you and for your words! This community is one of the bright spots in my world.

Ruth has this week’s Poetry Friday Roundup at There is no such thing as a God-forsaken town. Since it will be December next week, we need to start thinking about January-June roundups. Watch for signups.

Here’s how the other Poetry Sisters met our challenge:

Liz @ Liz Garton Scanlon
Tricia @ The Miss Rumphius Effect
Tanita @ {fiction, instead of lies}
Sara @ Read Write Believe
Laura @ Laura Purdie Salas
Kelly @ Kelly Ramsdell

Poetry Friday: Prose and Poetry

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Linda’s challenge for the Inklings this month was

Write a prose piece–find a poem in it.
Or, write a poem, expand it into a prose piece.
Or, find a prose piece, transform it into a poem.
Or, find a poem and transpose it into a prose piece.

Any interpretation of this prompt is perfect.

Sometimes a very narrow and constrained challenge is just right, and sometimes a wide open invitation is what a writer needs. Thanks, Linda!

Here’s how the other Inklings met Linda’s challenge:

Linda @A Word Edgewise
Heidi @my juicy little universe
Molly @Nix the Comfort Zone
Catherine @Reading to the Core
Margaret @Reflections on the Teche

Buffy Silverman has this week’s Poetry Friday Roundup.

Poetry Friday: Bouts-Rimés

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What is a Bouts-Rimés poem? Part game, part puzzle, they are hard to get started, but once you do, the possibilities are myriad! Here’s what Wikipedia has to say about Bouts-Rimés.

The Poetry Sisters shared rhymes…and then MORE rhymes when we figured out we didn’t have enough to satisfy the requirements of most sonnet types. Because our poems WOULD be sonnets. Sonnets are apparently the origin story of the Poetry Sisters, but at the beginning I was only there as audience, so I’m a late-comer to the sonnet game. Or a new-comer, as the case may be. I haven’t written many sonnets. This poem is a Shakespearean sonnet, but I also tried Petrarchan and Terza Rima.

For me, the process of writing a Bouts-Rimés poem was similar to writing a golden shovel. I picked my sonnet type, then loaded the right side of my notebook page with the rhymes that fit the sonnet (for Shakespearean: ABAB CDCD EFEF GG). I completely ignored the iambic pentameter syllable count requirement. (Call me cheater, or call me beginner. I’m fine with either label.) I chose my topic, and then started writing (and rewriting, and crossing out, and starting over). Like I said, part game, part puzzle!

Here’s what the rest of the crew came up with:

Liz @ Liz Garton Scanlon
Tricia @ The Miss Rumphius Effect
Tanita @ {fiction, instead of lies}
Sara @ Read Write Believe
Laura @ Laura Purdie Salas
Kelly @ Kelly Ramsdell

Carol has this week’s Poetry Friday Roundup at The Apples in My Orchard.

Next month, we’re writing in the style of Valerie Worth. You can learn more about Valerie Worth and read some of her poems at Spotlight on NCTE Poets: Valerie Worth, with Lee Bennett Hopkins, a post by Renée M. LaTulippe at No Water River. Join us if you’d like!

Poetry Friday: The Poem

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Margaret’s poem this week for This Photo Wants to be a Poem was beautiful. Her inspiration was the Poem-a-Day from the Academy of American Poets, “The warble of melting snow is the river.” Though I didn’t manage to join the This Photo community, my daily pencil-scratching resulted in this poem. Thank you, Margaret, for continuing to inspire us with gorgeous photos and your mentor texts.

Bridget has this week’s Dance Party (aka Poetry Friday Roundup) at wee words for wee ones.

Poetry Friday: Ordinary

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This is my prayer for the world: may you have a day or at least a moment of ordinary. In the midst of cleaning acorns out from under the cranberry viburnum, may you find the smallest flower ever. Sitting at your kitchen table, may you have a moment to notice the way the sun moves through the room and perhaps write about it. May the cat wake you up way too early, just like usual, but may you get another hour of sleep before the alarm goes off.

For the people of Ukraine, Afghanistan, Palestine, Israel: I see your unimaginable suffering, and from my place of privilege I offer the most humble prayer from one human heart to another: today may you have at least a moment of ordinary. And may someone in your life bring you the love and caring I’m feeling for you now.

Catherine has this week’s Poetry Friday roundup at Reading to the Core.

Poetry Friday: Visual Frameworks

When I ran across the Visual Frameworks site, I immediately added it to my list of possible prompts for the Inklings. Not only are the visuals compelling, the text that follows each is thought-provoking.

My first drafts explored all the possible ways to use a framework. For Coordinates, I wrote a haiku based on the image, then an erasure poem from the text.

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But my favorite is the poem I wrote for Disrupt the Flow.

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Check out how the other Inklings met my challenge:

Linda @A Word Edgewise
Heidi (is currently on blog hiatus)
Molly @Nix the Comfort Zone
Catherine @Reading to the Core
Margaret @Reflections on the Teche

Matt has this week’s Poetry Friday Roundup at Radio, Rhythm & Rhyme. And there’s been a change for next week. On October 13, Catherine will be hosting at Reading to the Core.

Poetry Friday: Diminishing Verse

Basil, oil, pecans, and garlic all go into the blender.
Summer is a giver, not a lender –
her heat the beginner, her pesto the ender.

©Mary Lee Hahn, 2023

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The Poetry Sisters wrote diminishing verse poems this month. Thank goodness I got started early fiddling with drafts and studying mentor texts because the last couple of weeks have been a lot. In all good ways.

Liz @ Liz Garton Scanlon
Tricia @ The Miss Rumphius Effect
Tanita @ {fiction, instead of lies}
Sara @ Read Write Believe
Laura @ Laura Purdie Salas
Kelly @ Kelly Ramsdell

Jama has the Poetry Friday Roundup this week at Jama’s Alphabet Soup.